


listen closely

by rosecaptain



Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: M/M, Rated T just for language, just a bunch of headcanons and stuff h
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-27 16:00:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19016125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosecaptain/pseuds/rosecaptain
Summary: meouch realizes there are certain sounds only his cat ears can hear.





	listen closely

_“Communication is the key to every relationship!”_ Sung announced to the entire ship once. It was one of his daily _Doctor Sung PSA's._

It just bounced back as a really bad joke however, considering half of TWRP’s members are mute. But Havve only ever has 2 moods: murder and not murder. Plus, the cyborg is able to channel his thoughts telepathically through Sung, and with his lack of emotional complexity it didn't leave much room for miscommunication. It was _Phobos_ that was the problem- a sentence Meouch liked to say a lot in his defense when they first formed the band. And Phobos had a _lot_ of emotional complexity.

None of the members are quite yet fluent in guitar speak. Sung understands a bit of Japanese but Meouch sure as hell didn't. TTS is the agreed upon solution for every day conversation, but when Phobos isn’t carrying His Device you’re left with figuring him out through just his gestures or facial expressions, the latter of which you can't do if he has his entire goddamn face covered up (otherwise Meouch can easily see four red eyes expressing the same disdain upon the lion's presence).

So that leaves the only other way to tell that Phobos emits any sort of living emotion: by the little sounds that he occasionally makes.

Now Meouch isn’t quite familiar with Phobos’ species, but they definitely differ biologically in the throat area. It took a while for Meouch to notice at first, since he is very quiet, and Sung and Meouch are quite loud. But eventually he recognized that the source of those faint, high pitched insect-like sounds his ears pick up from time to time came from under that golden helmet. He didn’t pay much attention to it then.

Until one Tuesday when the gang were located on Planet Earth and three out of four groove crusaders were hanging around on Meouch’s ship.

 _“God, you’re doing that thing Phobos does,”_ Meouch said, watching a weak Sung writhing on the floor from laughter. He's been like that for the past 5 minutes because of a terrible knock-knock joke Havve generated.

 _“What thing?”_ the cyclops managed to say between his giggles.

_“You know, that high pitched noise he makes when he gets too excited.”_

Sung gave him a funny look, _“Since when does Phobos do that?”_

Meouch opened his mouth to say something but then stops himself in realization. That was how Meouch discovered he was the only one in the group who could hear Phobos. But instead of explaining his new found revelation that his friends did not have the same hearing range as he did as a cat and that apparently Phobos produces sounds that are above the sound frequency of 20,000 hertz, Meouch instead mumbled a “never mind” and never brought it up again.

Fast forward to current space and time, however, and it is honestly making him lose his mind a little bit.

Even for Meouch, Phobos is a bit quiet and difficult to hear, more so if he was wearing his helmet. So Meouch always finds himself perking his ears to listen closely when he's around the boy.

When he’s annoyed, he does what Meouch assumes is the equivalent of a tongue click, except he seems to do it with his throat. He hears this most of the time in response to something Meouch said.

When he’s upset, he does a very low droning sound. Meouch always takes this as a sign to give him space.

When he’s happy, it’s like the fast whir of dragonfly wings but very high pitched. When Phobos looks like he’s laughing, he does this but more melodically, so Meouch assumes this is his laugh.

Then there's also the unique variations. Like how a 2 beat high buzz means "yes" and a low buzz is "no". Or so Meouch has noted.

It was mentally messing with him, somewhat. It felt like knowing a secret he couldn’t share with anyone else. He doesn’t even know if _Phobos_ knew that Meouch could hear him. Or if he knew that the other’s couldn’t? Or maybe he wasn’t aware about this at all to begin with? Why is Meouch so obsessed about this?

Well he knew why, actually. He just pushes it to the back of his head most of the time.

This was before they went to pick up Havve from Earth. The three of them were stuck on an unnamed planet somewhere within the orbit of Jupiter, unable to go anywhere. But it wasn't because their ship had broken down.

 _"You're fucking crazy if you think this will ever work,"_ Meouch snarled. _  
_

It was the fourth time thus far that Sung tried to talk him into his outrageous personal mission, and Meouch has had more than enough at that point 

Sung looked desperate then. Every bit of sadness apparent in his eye, _"Try to understand his feelings, won’t you?”_ he pleaded.

 _"Understand him? He doesn't even fucking talk! What’s there to understand!"_ He roared back in frustration.

That confrontation didn't end well. Neither did the many more that followed after it. Eventually however, they did get off that planet.

And time passed, as time does, and time heals. Maybe. Though there is still an unspoken air between the two of them, what stands is that Meouch _has_ been making a genuine effort to understand Phobos, be it his body language, his facial expressions, or his sounds. Ironically, now Meouch seems to understand the mute alien the most out of everyone. It was evident in the subtle gestures of picking up on his mood and understanding what it is he wants or doesn't want. Sung noticed this and was pretty happy about it. But unlike how Sung is Havve’s Official Interpreter, Meouch is more of just a Phobos Mood Ring. It’s different when they actually communicate with each other instead of guessing what the other is feeling by listening really hard and staring at their face.

So here he is now, on an uninhabited planet somewhere on the asteroid belt, fetching Phobos because Sung told him to. He said he’d be back in an hour before he wandered off, but the alien practically has no sense of time and gets distracted way too easily. Meouch has been walking for about 10 minutes in an empty red wasteland before he finally spotted him, just a couple feet away.

 _“Hey, Phobos,”_ he called out. _“The ship's good to go.”_

Phobos didn’t respond. He was sitting cross-legged on the rocky ground, helmet placed next to him. He seemed to be preoccupied with something. Curious, Meouch walked over and crouched down to his level.

_“Watcha lookin’ at, bud?”_

A pair of ruby eyes glanced at the lion, then back at the ground. Meouch followed.

He was looking at… worms? Glow worms. They were a luminescent green and small in size- though much larger than the worms you’d find on other planets. Not sure what they were exactly. Phobos however, seemed to be very fascinated by them. Meouch joins him in watching.

They sit in somewhat peaceful silence for a while. Just watching the little glow worms march by in a never ending trail. Meouch would occasionally glance at Phobos, but Phobos’ gaze never left the ground. Then, Phobos extended a hand to one of the tiny creatures and let it crawl onto the palm of his hand. He smiled fondly.

 _Oh._ A realization clicked.

_“Did you… used to have these things back at your home?”_

Phobos made a quiet, surprised buzz. He slowly nodded.

Meouch remembers now. Phobos’ planet was full of everything glowing. From the insects to the trees, they all glowed green like the people who lived on it.

Meouch could feel the guilt stab at his chest again. He quickly clears his throat.

 _“You could bring one back with you if you want. Sung probably wouldn’t mind,”_ he said, _“We could call him Steve. And he can live on the extra bunk bed.”_

Phobos smiled again, softly, and then there it was, the high pitched dragonfly wings. A quiet and fluttering sound; Phobos' version of a giggle.

 _“Oh hey. Haven’t heard that in a while,”_ Meouch commented without much thought. _  
_

Right then Phobos freezes and looked at Meouch for a moment. Then a soft green hue glowed in Phobos’ cheeks. He was blushing. 

_"What? Laughing is good for you. You should do it more often,"_ he pats Phobos on the back a couple times then gets up. Phobos follows suit but instead of walking back with Meouch, he takes something out of his pocket. His Device. He quickly taps away at it then flashes the screen at Meouch.

 ** _It doesnt hurt your ears does it?_** The screen says.

 _“Oh.”_ Meouch blinked. He realized that this is the first time he ever brought this up with Phobos directly. _“No, not really.”_

Phobos starts typing again.

**_Ive read that felines have vry sensitive hearing. I forgot_ **

_“Hey, uh, it’s cool.”_

Phobos looked embarrassed. He was still glowing green.

Then Meouch belatedly realizes why.

_“Listen, uh. I didn’t mean to make you get all self aware about it. It sounds nice- I like it, even. So don’t worry about it.”_

All four of Phobos’ eyes were looking everywhere except at Meouch. Fuck, maybe Meouch was blushing too now. His paw instinctively reaches for the back of his neck, tugging at the fur of his mane. A habit he does when he’s nervous.

_“I mean, uh-”_

**_“There you are!”_** someone yelled suddenly, making both of them jump in unison. They spun around to see a rather upset cone man stomping towards them.

 _“What are you guys doing?”_ Sung yelled, _“Meouch, I told you to go get him, not spend 30 minutes standing around!”_

 _Oh thank fucking god._ Meouch discreetly lets out a breath of relief. Sung has the best timing sometimes.

 _“Yeah, sorry. By the way, Sung can we keep this?”_ Meouch pointed at the glow worm in Phobos’ hand.

Sung put his hands on his hips and tilted his head, _“A worm? Uh… sure?”_

_“Cool.”_

Meouch walked ahead, making sure to leave the scene in a very casual fashion. He doesn’t look back.

And that was how a sort of mutual understanding was established between the two of them. Ever since then Phobos has been noisier than ever, and Meouch rather liked that. It might not be perfect but it was still a functioning form of communication, shared just between the two. It was like their own little secret in that way (which maybe makes it just a little bit romantic) _._ Never in a million light years did Meouch think they'd ever get to this point but he's glad that they did. Who knew that they were on the same frequency all along. _  
_

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed this very short thing!


End file.
